10 Wrestling Repeats That Just Didn't Work
3. WCW Mimic 'Montreal Screwjob' One Month Later
The events surrounding the 1997 Survivor Series don't need much introduction.
Known as the 'Montreal Screwjob', a main event between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart was halted when Vince McMahon called for the bell to sound. Locked in his own Sharpshooter hold, Bret had been screwed by both his peers and his boss.
A previously-agreed departure to WCW transpired shortly thereafter, and it ended up hampering WCW's biggest match in history. At Starrcade 1997, Sting was set to challenge Hollywood Hogan for the World Title. Anticipation was heavy, because the company had spent the past year building towards the colossal main event.
The whole thing was ruined when Hogan pinned Sting. Announcers claimed that referee Nick Patrick had counted at a faster pace than usual, in essence insinuating that Sting had been 'screwed'.
Bret Hart then emerged and muttered something over the live mic about a screwjob not happening again and the match was restarted.
It was a poor decision to let what had happened to Bret in another promotion invade WCW's most titanic collision. Sting's subsequent title win felt tainted, chiefly because Patrick's count didn't seem all that fast, but also because of the presence of the 'Montreal Screwjob'.